DJ For a Day!
by Mikanhime
Summary: Several characters of the Furuba cast, along with the school's audio/visual club, make plans to use the radio station as part of their school project. R&R welcome :)
1. The School Project

     The sun shone brightly down upon the Souma-ke that day; Kyo was out jogging, while Shigure was in his study, 'working' on his novels, with his poor abused editor standing by. Yuki was working in his garden, which explained why there was peace in the house at the moment. Tohru made her way through the rooms of the house, making sure each one was cleaned and tidy, then made her way to the kitchen to prepare dinner.  Halfway there, the phone began to ring. Pivoting on one foot, she dashed back through the main room to the hallway, wondering who the caller might be. 

     "Hello, Souma residence desu!"  She piped cheerfully.

     The familiar voice of her yankee friend Uotani Arisa was heard, crisp and clear, over the phone. "Ah, Toh-chan, just the person I wanted to talk with. Listen, are Carrot Top and the Prince around?" 

     Tohru shook her head, even though Arisa wouldn't be able to see. "Ah, no.. Souma-kun is working in his garden, and Kyo-kun is out jogging desu.." 

     "Well that's all right. Listen, Hanajima's over here, and she just brought up a great idea for that school project we're all to do next week. Mind if we come over to discuss it?" 

     Tohru beamed happily, and while Uotani couldn't see the smile, she could certainly hear it. "Of course I don't mind! Ah – but I should ask Shigure-san to make sure it's okay desu. Can I call you back desu?" 

With agreement from Uotani, Tohru hung up the phone and walked back to the main room, knocking on the door. "Shigure-san?" 

From within, Tohru could hear Mit-chan wailing, "Senseeeeeeei! This isn't the manuscript you were supposed to give me!" 

"Now now, Mit-chan, don't get yourself so worked up." Shigure's voice chuckled, as he opened the door. Looking over his shoulder, he added, "I'll be right back." 

Mit-chan looked up from bawling over the sack of blank pages that Shigure had given her, eyes narrowed, "SWEAR IT!" 

Shigure laughed, waving a hand dismissively to the girl, "Of course, of course." Shutting the door, he looked at Tohru, "Now Tohru-chan, what can I do for you?" 

Even though these sort of antics were normal by now, Tohru still found herself lost within the chaos that existed in the Souma household; particularly when some of the more excitable visitors were visiting. "Ah.. Oh! I'm sorry to disturb you-" she began.

Shigure waved a hand, resting an arm around her shoulders as he started to walk with her across the room. "Maa, never mind that. I was going to take a short break myself anyway." 

Tohru let out a small sigh of relief, "Well, I was on the phone with Uo-chan just now, and she wanted to come over and discuss a school project with me over here. I wanted to make sure it would be okay first desu." 

Shigure rubbed his chin with his free hand, now guiding Tohru back into the hallway. "Well, I don't see where that would be a problem. Where are Yuki-kun and Kyo-kun?" 

"Er… ah.. they're out desu..Yuki-kun is at his garden, and Kyo-kun.." 

Before she could even finish that statement, the door was slid open, admitting one self-satisfied Jyunishi by the name of Souma Kyo. Spying Shigure and Tohru in the hallway – particularly the fact that the former had his arm around Tohru, Kyo narrowed his eyes slightly and grunted a greeting. "Oi." 

Oblivious as ever, Tohru smiled happily, "Welcome back Kyo-kun! Did you have fun jogging?"

Seeing his chance to get Kyo irritated, the eternally-mischievous Shigure leaned in close to Tohru, careful not to trigger his transformation as he addressed Kyo in turn. "o/~ Welcome Hooome, Kyo-kuuuuun~! ~/o"

Three things happened: One, Tohru looked towards Shigure, and began to turn a bright red. Two, Kyo looked at Shigure, his fists clenching as the anger-meter began to rise. Three, Shigure added insult to injury when he turned to Tohru and added, "Ne ne, Kyo-kun had so much fun, why don't we go have some fun too?" 

Tohru sputtered, "Eh?" .. 

..to the air, as Kyo's punch knocked Shigure away from Tohru and through the wall. "Che!" Kyo growled, "Damned pervert." 

Tohru clapped her hands over her mouth, eyes widening as she traced the arc Shigure's body flew in until the 'poor' novelist crashed onto the floor – though he didn't seem that hurt. "A..ah.. Shigure-san!! Are you okay desu!?" Tohru called.

Shigure sat up, rubbing his head, "Oow.. Kyo-kun hurt me Tohru-chan.. I think I need someone to come nurse me back to health.." 

Kyo took a step forward, pushing Tohru behind him, "Don't you ever give up!" 

"What's all the racket about, Kyo." Said another voice from behind the pair.

Kyo whirled to find himself staring right at the face of his eternal enemy, Yuki. "..None of your business, damnit!" Kyo snarled, turning and storming up the stairs to his room.

Tohru blinked anxiously after him, "A…. Kyo-kun!?" 

"Leave him, Honda-san." Yuki sighed the sigh of the long-suffering. "Here. I saw these growing near the garden, and thought you might like them." 

Tohru turned to accept the offering from Yuki, her eyes widening in surprise and pleasure, "Aah! They're beautiful Souma-kun!" A slight blush touched her cheeks. "These are.." 

"Tulips." Yuki supplied. "It's not anything special, but.. I saw them and .. well.." Yuki glanced away, coughing into his hand.

Tohru shook her head with delight, "No no, they're wonderful desu! Thank you so much Souma-kun!" She gushed, tilting the flowers to her face and sniffing lightly, "Mmm.. they smell wonderful desu!"

Yuki glanced back at her with a soft smile, "I'm glad you like them, Honda-san." 

Tohru looked at the flowers, "Saa, I'd better put these in some water." Turning again, she hurried back to the kitchen; it took her a moment to realize Shigure was nowhere to be seen. She had at first thought him to be back in his study, but a few minutes later, she heard Mit-chan screaming and carrying on outside. Obviously Shigure snuck out again.

"Can I help you with anything, Honda-san?" 

Tohru looked over her shoulder as she adjusted one of the flowers in the vase, "Mm, I have to call Uo-chan back, and after that I'm going to make a big dinner for everyone desu!" 

Yuki smiled, placing his hands behind his back, "Ah, so Uotani-san is coming over to join us?" 

"Yes, and Hana-chan too!"  Was it her imagination or did Yuki just pale slightly? 

"Ah.." The prince said, a bit more weakly, "Then…" He gamely recovered his composure, "What will we be having?"

Tohru turned around, putting a finger to her chin in thought, "Etou… I was thinking of preparing some nato miso shiru, onigiri, and as a main dish, vegetable and chicken tempura desu." 

Yuki whistled in admiration, "That's quite a lot to prepare Honda-san. I'd like to help if I may." 

I'd like to help if I may, was a death sentence, considering Yuki's rather infamous lack of cooking skills. Still, that he offered to help her was an honor to Tohru, and she couldn't – wouldn't say no. She'd just have to make sure he didn't do any actual cooking. "Well, the soup and the rice needs preparing.." She ventured timidly.

Yuki smiled, "Say no more, Honda-san. I'll take care of that, and you can call Uotani-san and..Hanajima-san." 

Tohru smiled gratefully, and made her way out of the room. It may have just been her imagination, but she'd  -swear- Yuki twitched whenever he mentioned Hanajima.

     Two hours later, without incident no less, everyone was seated around the small table in the main room, finishing up the masterpiece that was Tohru's cooking. Mit-chan had fruitlessly tried to get Shigure to get up and return to his manuscript, and somehow managed to get convinced to sit down and eat – she'd even forgotten about the manuscript, lost in the chatter of the other teenagers around her. For all of the grief Shigure gave her, she enjoyed being around the others, particularly since Tohru was living in this place. She made everything seem much..brighter, much more cheerful whenever she was around. Yuki certainly was smiling more, now that she thought about it.

     "Ne ne, Tohru-chan!" Shigure piped up after a moment, and drawing the attention of everyone at the table, (which was the idea) "Did you, Arisa-chan and Saki-chan have a chance to discuss this project you were going to do for school?"

     That also got the attention of Kyo and Yuki; the former glanced at Tohru out of the corner of his eye, feigning disinterest, while Yuki gave Tohru his full attention. "Project?" Yuki echoed, thinking back. 

     "Mm." Uotani nodded at Yuki, alternating her attention from him to Tohru, "Hanajima and I were talking about it a few hours ago, and we think we have a good idea.. but we need more people to pull it off." 

     "Quite a bit more. Of course we thought of you, Tohru-chan." The gloomy girl beside Uotani said, before taking a sip of her tea.

     Tohru smiled happily, "What's the idea then?" 

     Silence fell, as all eyes turned to Hanajima Saki, who simply sipped at her cup of tea as if she had all the time in the world. Time slowed, as she gracefully lowered the cup to its saucer, with a tiny, almost inaudible 'clink'. Such a noise would never have been heard, if everyone hadn't been staring at Hanajima in suspense, holding their breath.

     Hanajima looked up to regard those surrounding her, and then turned her head to look at Tohru, "…a radio play." She uttered.

     There was a loud whoosh of air as everyone exhaled in response to this revelation. Uotani chuckled, rubbing behind her head as she elaborated on Hanajima's response. "Not so much as a radio play.. more like.. being radio DJ's for a day. It could be a lot of fun." 

     Tohru, of course, was all for it. "That's a fantastic idea, Uo-chan, Hana-chan!" She beamed..and paused, "But.. we don't have that kind of equipment or anything.." 

     "The A/V club said that they would help." Hanajima put in quietly.

     Uotani smirked, "After we .. convinced them, of course. Otherwise they'd have been helping the Prince's fanclub with whatever project they were working on." She added, jerking a thumb at poor Yuki. 

     "Still, we three are not enough to successfully run this project." Hanajima said, taking a bite of her riceball.

     Uotani slumped her shoulders, "Ah, you're right.." She glanced at Yuki and Kyo, "How about you two?" 

     Yuki smiled, "I think that I would enjoy something like that."

     Kyo snorted, turning away, "Keh! Forget it, I have better things to do than work on some stupid radio station. Especially with that damn Yuki!" Grumbling, he added, "I'll figure something out on my own."

     Uotani raised her hand and slammed it against the table, "OI! What is your problem with Yuki anyway Carrot Top? And you're supposed to be Tohru's friend, AREN'T YOU? Well she could use your help with this too you know!" 

     Hanajima fixed Kyo with one of her patented pre-denpa stares, "A friend should be there to help each other when they're in a fix, don't you agree?" There was a definite threat in those last three words.

     Tohru interrupted her two friends however, waving her hands quickly, "It's okay it's okay! I know some other people I can ask desu – I don't want Kyo-kun to feel like he's being pressured into this." She smiled sweetly at Kyo, "Really it's okay Kyo-kun, I understand if you don't want to join our group desu. I wish you the best of luck with your own project though!" 

     Kyo eyed Tohru briefly, and then turned away with a grumble that no one could quite interpret. Yuki, obviously, couldn't care less. In his opinion, he wouldn't have to fight with Kyo over Tohru-time. Er. That is, Kyo wouldn't be around to mess things up.

     Uotani scowled after Kyo, until Hanajima set down her empty teacup with finality. "Then it's settled. We start tomorrow." 

To Be Continued.. 


	2. The Radio Station

  Yuki ran a hand against his hair as he stepped out of the house, gazing up towards the bright sunny sky with a quiet smile. "A beautiful day, isn't it Honda-san?" He asked of the girl beside him.

  Tohru's bright smile could have rivaled the glow of the sun. "It's really beautiful! Mother must be happy desu!" She agreed. "Uo-chan and Hana-chan must be waiting for us at the radio station desu. Let's hurry, ne?" 

  Yuki smiled and nodded to the girl, "Of course." It was a marked blessing that the bakaneko didn't show up once all day – no doubt sulking on the roof again. The day was even more blessed when he realized Shigure was nowhere to be seen – so he was probably hiding from Mit-chan. It should make for a peaceful walk.

  Tohru chattered amiably about random topics as they set off for the station, her conversation ranging from her dear friends, to dinner, then the school project, wherein she mentioned getting help from Momiji, and then, as it always did, to Kyo. Yuki could feel the tension in his shoulders as Tohru made the innocent remark, "I hope Kyo-kun is doing all right. I wish he'd come with us to the radio station." 

  Sighing quietly, Yuki was barely able to resist turning to Tohru and shaking her gently. Wasn't he enough company for her? Why did she need to always turn the conversation to that damn fool, Kyo? His eyes turned downward, a frown puckering his brow. That wasn't being fair to her. He, just like Kyo, knew very well why she would bring up Kyo or himself if the other was absent. It was silly to get so worked up and jealous – especially knowing how Akito hated her. 

  "Yuki-kun?" 

  Yuki jerked his head up as he realized Tohru had stopped talking, and was now watching him with concern mirrored in her blue-green eyes. Guilt gnawed at the pit of his stomach as he realized she must have asked him something, and his silence had caused her to worry.  Shaking off his thoughts, he graced her with his best smile, "Yes, Honda-san?" 

  "Are you not feeling well, Yuki-kun? The wind is a bit chilly today. Do you want to borrow my jacket?" 

Amusement played across Yuki's face at the girl's offer. "No no, Honda-san. I'm fine, I was just thinking about the project." A small lie to be sure – but it wasn't completely false. He had been thinking about the project.. till she mentioned Kyo. "Besides, I believe your jacket is a bit too small for me." And he didn't want anyone to catch him wearing a pink jacket with a koala pin on the pocket. He smothered a short chuckle behind his hand.

"A..ano! Yuki-kun! Was that a cough?" Tohru asked anxiously.

Yuki shook his head, "No, no, I.." He paused. How could he tell Tohru what he'd just thought? It was a bit embarassing. He shook his head with a smile, his hand reaching to gently touch Tohru's chin. "I'm fine." His eyes sparkled with pleasure as he saw her cheeks turn the faintest hint of pink, and he dropped his hand from her chin, this time taking her hand. "Let's go meet Uotani-san, and Hanajima-san." 

By the time the radio station came in sight, Yuki had (somewhat reluctantly) released Tohru's hand. Tohru didn't seem to notice, as she spied her friends waiting patiently. Or rather, Hanajima was waiting, and Uotani was talking (i.e. arguing and threatening) with several boys from their audio-visual club.

"Uo-chan! Hana-chan!" Tohru called happily, waving her hand in greeting.

Where Tohru's greeting was more exuberant, Yuki's was a good deal more subdued, but still sincere. Hanajima simply moved her head and looked at Yuki for a very long time. Long enough to make the Jyunishi boy very nervous, until Hanajima finally straightened from where she was leaning against the wall. "…welcome, Souma Yuki." 

"Oi! Prince! Toh-chan! Glad you made it! Have any trouble?" Uotani called.

Yuki twitched, pulling his gaze from the denpa girl, looking to Uotani instead. Not that much safer, but certainly less creepy. "Ah, no, your directions were very straightforward."

  Tohru hugged her two friends tightly, as if she hadn't seen them in years, rather than just the other day. She did, however, pick up on Hanajima's apparent distraction. She wasn't –completely- unobservant, after all. "Hana-chan, is something wrong? How's Megumi-kun?" 

  Hanajima looked to her friend and smiled, "Megumi is fine, Tohru-chan."

  Tohru then exhaled as Uotani snagged her in a one-armed bear-hug, "Aus! These guys managed to pull some strings with the station, and they agreed to let us use it if we use their promotional commercials in the taping. Sounded fair enough anyway."

  "Glrk." Tohru uttered.

  "I thought so too!" Uotani grinned, "We're short a few people, but we'll make do, right Toh-chan?" 

  "*wheeze*" Tohru answered.

  "Right!" Uotani laughed, then glanced at Yuki, "Oi, what's with you, Prince? You look in shock." 

  "Uh.. Uotani-san.." Yuki ventured after a moment, raising a hand and pointing at Tohru.

  "Hm?" Uotani looked down to her friend, "Hey Toh-chan, you're awfully quiet. That blue really isn't your color; too much makeup?" 

  "Arisa." Hanajima interrupted, "Perhaps you ought to let Tohru-chan breathe." 

  Uotani erked, promptly releasing the girl, who doubled over, wheezing. "Ah – sorry about that Toh-chan! I got so caught up in the moment, I just completely forgot myself." 

  "It's.. *cough* okay *wheeze* Uo *gasp* -chan." Tohru managed between great gulps of air, until she straightened. "I'm all right, really!" 

  "Are you sure, Honda-san?" Yuki asked, worried.

  Tohru nodded enthusiastically, "Ne! Let's all go inside now and have fun!" 

  Uotani laughed, "That's the spirit Toh-chan! Onward!" She punched a fist into the air, and led her merry group into the station. 

  Hanajima narrowed her eyes slightly as she looked around again, then turned around and followed after the others.

*

  From their vantage point in an alley, the trio that made up only a small part of the LOVE ME YUKI! Fanclub shuddered to themselves. "Did you see that?" Ichigo hissed to the other two. "That creepy denpa girl almost saw us!" 

  "Let's go back you guys!" Sango whined, clutching Nigo's sleeve, "The last time we got hit by one of her electric shocks, we were lighting up the room for weeks. Literally!" 

  Nigo tugged on her sleeve, ignoring Sango, "Ichigo, what do you think that witch and her friends are going to do to our Yuki-kun?" She asked breathlessly. "Moreover, how did she manage to get those geeks to help _THEM_ and not _US_!?" 

  "I couldn't sleep for weeks. I kept seeing her face in my nightmare.. taunting, laughing at me with those ungodly glowing eyes, and I screamed and screamed and screamed-" 

  "SHUT UP Sango!" Ichigo snapped. "And pull yourself together!" She looked at Nigo, "I don't know, and I don't want to think about it, quite frankly." She clasped her hands together, "Aa, poor Yuki-kun, trapped in such an unsanitary place, with those horrible women!" 

  Nigo bit on a hankerchief she drew from her pocket, "Yuki-kuuuuuun!" She wailed, until Ichigo clapped a hand over her mouth to silence her.

  Sango decided to pipe up, and make things a heck of a lot worse. "You know, I was watching the news the other day, and there was this clip about some children who were brainwashed but subliminal messages put in radio waves." She giggled, "Wouldn't it be funny if that's what they were doing in the radio station right now?" She proceeded to laugh uproariously until she realized that her two friends had gone pale, and were most certainly NOT laughing. By the time the impact of her words, though said in jest, hit her, Ichigo and Nigo were already fighting to get in the doorway. Sango scrambled after them, "Wait for me!!" 

  "Quit pushing!" Ichigo snapped, "I'm the vice president so I should go first!" 

  "Don't worry Yuki-kun! We'll save you!" Nigo blurted out.

  "What the hell are you doing?" Said a fourth voice; one which was most assuredly male. 

  As one, the trio pivoted, to find themselves looking right into the very annoyed eyes of one Souma Kyo. "Aren't you-" Sango began.

  Kyo cut her off with a wave of his hand, "Out of my way, I'm going inside!"  He growled.

  Meekly, the trio stepped back, staring at Kyo with a mix of awe and fear. The cursed cat glared at them. "And quit starin' at me!"   He added, passing through the doorway into the radio station.

  Several minutes after the door closed, Ichigo blinked, and slapped her head ."WHY did we let him inside!? Doesn't he know what fiendish plans that Honda is up to in there?" 

  "Now we have to rescue Yuki-kun –and- his cousin!" Nigo put in.

  "Me first!" Sango chimed, darting into the doorway.

  Before Nigo and Ichigo could follow, there was an ear splitting shriek and Sango shot back out the door and down the block, with only a smoke trail to mark her passage. A few minutes later, they found out why. Inside the lobby of the radio station, as they peeked into the room, they saw Kyo talking to Hanajima. Hanajima nodded mutely, and turned to point towards the stairs. Kyo started to head in that direction, when Hanajima turned her head towards the doorway, almost ominously.

  Ichigo and Nigo were next to go screaming down the block after Sango. 

  Kyo shook his head, and eyed Hanajima. "Do they always do that?" 

  Hanajima simply smiled. "Teehee." 

   Kyo shuddered slightly at the utter creepiness and inherent wrongness of a 'teehee' coming from the gloomy girl's lips, and followed Hanajima upstairs to where the others were waiting.


	3. On the Air

    The office in which the group were gathered was large and spacious. The boys from the club were busy hooking up the equipment, while Uotani and the others were being briefed by the manager of the radio station. It was the usual drill; nothing illegal, no profanity (there was a quiet groan from Yuki at that point). In the center of the room was a large table around which several people could be seated. In front of each seat there was a headset and microphone. At the center of the table were several products, no doubt the things that they were to advertise during commercial breaks.

    Once they were left to their own devices, Uotani looked at Tohru and Yuki. "Saki's been gone a while. Where'd she say she was going again, Toh-kun?"

    "Ah..I think she said she was going to wait for the others." Tohru answered. 

    Yuki blinked, looking at Tohru, "Others? Who else is coming, Honda-san?" 

    Before she could answer that, the door was flung open, and Momiji bounded into the room, "Tohruuuu!!! Yuki-kun!" He made a beeline for a mega-glomp on the Onigiri princess, only to be thwarted by a hand on the back of his shirt collar.

    "Yo, minna." Hatsuharu remarked, keeping a vice grip on Momiji's shirt even as the younger boy continued trying to run for Tohru, arms outstretched. He looked towards Yuki, smiling in turn. "Yuki, it's good to see you." 

    Uotani wasn't the only one to be surprise by their arrival, apparently; so was Yuki. He smiled weakly, and glanced at Tohru, "You called Hatsuharu and Momiji?" 

    Tohru nodded, "I hope you don't mind..?" 

    Yuki smiled, shaking his head, "No, of course not. The more the merrier." He just hoped that Black Haru wouldn't come out in the middle of the recording. 

    A soft tap at the door sounded next, and Yuki looked up to see Ritsuko peeking in a tad nervously. "Um..a…am I interrupting? Am I late?" 

    "Ritsuko?" Yuki blinked incredulously. _And.. he's wearing a pink Kimono… oh god._

    Tohru beamed, waving Ritsuko inside, "You're right on time Richansan!" 

    Ritsuko, currently clad, like Momiji, in feminine attire, smiled as he demurely entered the room, clasping his hands. "I wanted to thank you, Tohru-san, for inviting me to be a part of this project. Even though I am not part of your school, it was very kind of you. I'm so honored." 

    Tohru shook her head, "No, the honor is mine desu!"  She tilted her head to the side, "I'm so happy that you accepted the offer! Did you have any trouble getting here? It's so wonderful to see you again Ri-chan-san!" 

    Ritsuko shook his head, "No, your instructions were very clear and straightforward, thank you Tohru-san." He glance at the other Jyunishi; from a cheerful Momiji, to the ever-mellow Haru, and then finally to Yuki, who was recovering from the shock of seeing the Jyunishi gathered. "Ah, where's Kyo-kun?"

    Once again, Tohru was about to answer, but someone else did it for her.

    "He is here."

    Ritsuko turned around, finding himself face to face with the ever creepy Hanajima, who simply stared back at him, unblinking. "You have interesting waves." She remarked.

    Kyo stepped around Hanajima, arms crossed as he eyed the others gathered in the room. "OI! Where the hell did you all come form?" 

    "I'm sorry!!" Ritsuko bowed deeply, "Should I not be here! I'm so sorry! Tohru-san invited me over and I of course accepted, but I should have considered everyone else's feelings! I'm SO SO SORRY! Please forgive this unworthy one! I didn't mean to offend y-" 

Kyo waved the massive string of apologies off before Ritsuko REALLY got going. "Forget it." He said gruffly, looking past him to glare death rays at Yuki, who was doing a fair job at glaring just as coldly back at him.

And between them both, Tohru beamed happily, fairly glowing with happiness, "Kyo-kun! You came after all! Thank you so much! I'm so happy desuuu!" 

Distracted from wishing death on Yuki, Kyo blinked at Tohru and grunted a response. Momiji looked at Tohru, "Ah, Tohru-chan! I forgot to mention, Hari said he was sorry he couldn't make it, but he was very busy looking after Akito."

Tohru smiled to the younger boy, "It's all right desu! We'll just make copies to give to Hatori-san later!"     

"HEY! I didn't agree to this!" Kyo suddenly snapped, shuddering at the thought.

Uotani smacked him across his head, "Well how the hell did you think we were going to display the project for class, you moron!"

Kyo rubbed his head and glared at Uotani, "Knock it off, ya damn yankee!" 

"There goes the 'No profanity' stigma.." Yuki muttered.

Tohru coughed, waving her hands reassuringly, "It'll be okay, desu!" She hoped.

One of the members of the a/v club, Yaten, interrupted the group, "We're just about ready here, Uotani-san." 

"Then we must decide who fills what role." Hanajima said quietly.

Uotani nodded, looking back to Yaten, "So what've we got, Ten-kun?"

Yaten held up a clipboard, flipping a few pages. "Well, we've got to have people handle the commercial segment,  news and the weather, the DJs themselves of course, someone to introduce the music selections, and someone to handle the phones." 

Momiji thrust his hand into the air, "I nominate Tohru-chan as DJ!"

Tohru stammered, "ME? But..but.. but..!"

Yuki chuckled, "I think it's a good idea Honda-san. To be a DJ, someone has to be charming, and you have that, plus you have a beautiful voice. It suits the radio quite well. I myself, wouldn't mind introducing some classical music to our listeners." 

Kyo scoffed, "You got to be kidding me! No one wants to listen to boring old classical music! Who do you think listens to this station; old people? We're going to use something new age; HARD ROCK Music, not tinkerbell classics!" 

"Aus! Put the Prince and Carrot Top down for music, Ten-kun." Uotani interrupted, resting a hand on her hips.

"That still leaves phone work, news, weather, commercials, and the phones." 

"Haru! Haru!" Momiji bounced up and down, "Let's do the commercials! That'll be fun, right Haru?" 

Hatsuharu shrugged, "…okay." 

Hanajima looked at Uotani, "Arisa. I would like to do the news." 

Uotani smiled at her friend, "Aus! I'll handle the weather then."

Ritsuko fidgeted anxiously, "Ah….then…should I answer the phones?" He seemed rather disappointed that he wouldn't be on the radio.

Tohru shook her head, "Richan-san! Why don't you be a DJ with me desu?" She looked at Uotani, "That's okay, ne Uo-chan?" 

Uotani nodded, "Sure!" she did a mental head count. "We still need someone to answer the phones though." She glanced at Yaten, "Oi! One of you guys free to do that?" 

Yaten nodded, "Yeah, we don't need everyone to monitor. You two," he pointed at two others, "Take the phone station. Ken and I will keep everything running smoothly."

Tohru beamed happily, and ran over to Ritsuko, leading him towards the head of the table where the DJs were to sit. Uotani and Hanajima sat at the left side of the table, with Momiji across from them. It took some convincing, but they finally managed to get Hatsuharu to leave Yuki's side and rejoin Momiji. It took even more convincing to get Kyo to head towards the music selections with Yuki. 

"Before we begin, has anyone decided on a name for our radio station?" 

"Let's call it Tohru-Radio!" Momiji piped.

Uotani chuckled, "I don't think that suits too well, Momiji-chan."

"Yes, and Tohru-chan may be accused of being egotistical." Hanajima added.

"Um..excuse me…" Ritsuko ventured quietly.

Uotani and Hanajima glanced at the demure 'girl'. "Yeah? You have an idea?" 

Ritsuko nodded slowly, "How about.. Furuba?"

"Furuba Radio.." Tohru mused, smiling, "I like it desu!" It works on many levels.

Yuki smiled, "I agree. It's a good name; good work Ritsuko." 

Uotani chuckled, "I agree, ouji. It's simple and cute!" 

"Then Furuba Radio it is." Hanajima said softly, clearing her throat. "Let's begin, ne?" 

Yaten nodded, heading into another room, behind the glass where they could observe the players in this project. Over the intercom rigged up between the two rooms, Ken spoke up, "Okay Tohru-san, you and Ritsuko-san will be on the air in five..four..three.." He stops speaking, miming two and one with his hands.

Yuki picked up a CD and put it into the player, hitting the button as soft music by Tchaikovsky began to play as background music. Tohru smiled nervously, looking at Ritsuko, who didn't seem inclined to speak at all. Stage – or radio fright, more than likely. Putting the headset on, Tohru tapped the microphone, which set off a feedback squeal that caused everyone to wince. "A…ah..g…gomen desu! Um.. ano.. t..this is Honda Tohru coming to you .. ah.. live..f..from Furuba-" She paused when she saw Momiji waving frantically to the men in the sound-booth.

The 'On Air' light switched off, and Ken called through the intercom, "What's wrong Momiji?" 

"Sorry, can I talk to Ri-chan and Tohru-chan real quick?" 

"Sure.. Five minutes everyone." Ken answered. Momiji leapt out of his chair and bounced over to Tohru, "Come on, I want to tell you two something!" Momiji beamed, grabbing the hands of his two friends and rushing out of the room.

    Five minutes were spent in silence, and the small group soon returned, to find palpable tension in the room. Uotani and Hanajima were watching Kyo and Yuki glaring at each other, while Hatsuharu was clinging to the back of Yuki's shirt. "We're back!" Momiji sang out, hopping over to take his seat. Hatsuharu sighed slightly and reluctantly released Yuki's shirt, rejoining Momiji. Kyo growled something under his breath and discreetly slipped over to the music selection, switching CD's. 

    Uotani eyed Hanajima, and then looked at Yuki, "Oi ouji, tell me something." 

    Yuki blinked his violet eyes at Uotani, "Ah, sure..what is it, Uotani-san?" 

    "What's the deal with you and Hatsuharu?" 

    Yuki coughed, "Ah –" He quickly changed the subject, "Honda-san, Ritsuko – where'd you get those shades?" 

    Tohru and Ritsuko shuffled back to their seats, a subtle smile on Richan's face, while a broader grin was on Tohru's. "Momiji-kun gave them to us desu! He said that it would help us with our roles." 

    Ritsuko nodded, "Um. So..shall we try again, Tohru-chan?" 

    "HAAAAAAAAI! Ken-san, punch it desuuuu!" 

    There was a laugh from the sound booth, "Okay Tohru-san. You're on in five..four.." Once again, the countdown began. 

    Kyo sat on a chair, arms folded as he stared innocently elsewhere, while Yuki hit the button to begin the music. However, instead of Tchaikovsky playing over the speakers, the loud (and in Yuki's opinon, that's ALL that it was) music of some gaijin hard rock band began blaring over the speakers. He quickly lowered the volume and turned to yell something at Kyo, but something else completely took his attention.

    That something, basically, was the terribly amusing sight of Tohru and Ritsuko, throwing themselves into their DJ roles.

    "AUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU Desuuuuuuuu! You're listening to Honda Tohru LIVE on Furuba Radio desu, and with me is co-DJ, Souma Richansan!" 

    Trying his best to ignore the suppressed laughter from the pair beside him, Richan smiled brightly at Tohru and took his turn, amping up the sugary sweetness of his voice, "That's right Tohru-chan, and boy have we got a line up for you today. Straight from your own neighborhood, we have Uotani-san with the weather, and Hanajima-san with the news. Later, we'll accept phone calls from our listeners, and take requests for music."

    "HAI! But even though this is a live radio show, we still have to give credit to our sponsors desu, who were kind enough to let us use this empty office in their station to do this show for our project desu. Now everyone say Ohayou desu, to our listeners!" 

    The group in the room chuckled at the enthusiasm Tohru and Ritsuko were putting into their act, and all chimed accordingly, with their own greetings. Kyo and Hatsuharu of course, deviated from the norm; Kyo yelled an "OI!" while Hatsuharu gave a lazy sounding, "..yo.." 

    "Maa, maa, such wonderful greetings from everyone!" Ritsuko smiled, "So .. um, why don't we all tell a little about ourselves. Momiji-kun, we'll start with you-" he reached for the microphone, but knocked it over accidentally. The microphone proceeded to fall over and hit the floor, wherein it emitted such a feedback squeal that everyone at the table yanked off their headsets and clapped their hands over their ears in pain. Ritsuko gasped in dismay as he rushed and picked up the microphone, though he tripped over Tohru's microphone cord in the process, and knocked it across the room where IT began to utter that selfsame squeal again. 

    "OI! You MORON can't you be more careful!" Kyo snarled at Ritsuko.

    Obviously the wrong thing to do, as Ritsuko skittered back several steps and collapsed to the floor, bowing repeatedly, "G..gomen nasai! I .. it was an accident .. I'm so sorry.." 

    Yuki, sensing a panic attack, quickly got up to reassure Ritsuko. Unfortunately, he was far too late as Ritsuko began _WAILING_, **"I'm SO SORRY! I'm a TERRIBLE DJ! AREN'T I! I UNDERSTAND IF YOU WANT TO BE RID OF ME, I'LL BE THROWN OUT ON THE STREET AND FORCED TO EAT NOTHING BUT BREADCRUMBS. I'LL HAVE TO DEPEND ON THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS TO MAKE MY WAY IN THE WORLD. EVERYWHERE IN THE WORLD I GO I'LL BE KNOWN AS THAT HORRIBLE DJ THAT MESSED EVERYTHING UP! I'M SO SO SORRY! I'M NOT WORTHY OF BEING YOUR FRIENDS! I'M NOT WORTHY OF BEING A DJ! I'M NOT WORTHY OF LIVING!"**

    Uotani and Hanajima both got up, as Tohru darted to Ritsuko's side  to help Yuki calm the cursed monkey down. Ken and Yaten stared on in morbid horror and amusement, until they realized the 'On the Air' light was still on. "Ah.. QUICK! Cut to commercial!" The 'On Air' light flicked off. 

    Completely and utterly unphased by this, Momiji watched the majority – nay, the entire room, save Hatsuharu, file out to the hallway, in some amusement. Uotani was dragged Kyo by the ear, with Hanajima following her, while Yuki was guiding the still distraught and sobbing Ritsuko out the door, with Tohru following. "I guess that's our cue, eh Haru?" 

    "..yeah." 

    Momiji waved a hand to Yaten, who flicked the switch back on. "Aaaaand we're back! Waaaaaaaai!" Momiji chirped into the microphone, "While everyone's out taking a potty break," he ignored the slight grunt, which could have been interpreted as **ANYTHING**, from Hatsuharu, "Haru-kun and I are going to do the commercials! The first up," he picked up a piece of paper, while Haru reached forward and took a bag of what looked like dried fruit.

    "Let's see! We've got a bag of dried seedless fruit from Uncle Arnie's orchard!" Momiji read, "Healthy and fat free, and taste like a little bit of sunshine! Buy them now from a supermarket near you!" He put the paper down, "Healthy huh? Hey Haru, why don't you try a piece?" 

    "….okay." Hatsuharu said, ripping open the bag. He reached in and took a single chip, popped it in his mouth, chewed and swallowed. 

    "Well?" Momiji asked.

    Hatsuharu looked at him, and silently passed him the bag. Puzzled, Momiji reached in and took a chip out, munching on it for a few minutes. He immediately spat it back out. "That's disgusting! It tastes like something  someone stepped on! And what's that aftertaste? Haru?" 

    "….dirt." Haru answered.

    "Yeah! How are they going to stock supermarket shelves with yucky stuff like that?" Momiji chucked the bag into a garbage can and grabbed the microphone, "Listen up everyone! Avoid this Uncle Arnie's stuff! You don't have to eat disgusting food like that to be healthy! Go outside and jog! Go swimming! Hike in the mountains and fight a bear! You don't have to avoid fast food and candy to stay thin, right Haru?" 

    "..yeah." 

    "So go on out, have your cake and eat it too, Momiji says!" 


	4. Hanajima and Uotani: News and Weather

     *CLANG!*

     The sound of a heavy lead pipe slamming into the side of the wall beside Kyo's head reverberated off the walls and ceiling, echoing down the hallway. "You damn fool! Go and apologize to Ritsuko-san, before I knock your lights out!" Uotani snarled angrily.

     "Where the hell did that lead pipe come from?" Kyo yelped, narrowing his amber eyes, "And why the hell should I apologize!?" 

     "Ah, Uo-chan, calm down desu! Richan-san is okay, ne Yuki-kun?" Tohru looked towards the other end of the hall, where Yuki was trying to keep Ritsuko from drowning himself in the water fountain. "….ah.." She looked back towards her friends, "A..anyway!" She put in laughing nervously.

     Hanajima put a hand on Tohru's shoulder, "Tohru-chan, you know Ritsuko-san longer than we do. Why don't you go help Souma Yuki with calming her down?" 

     Tohru nodded quickly, casting Kyo a worried glance as she trotted down the hall. Uotani tightened her grip on the pipe, looking like she was about ready to crack it off Kyo's cranium, when once again, Hanajima interjected. "Arisa, you do know that damages to the radio station are not covered by this agreement." 

     Uotani stopped short, and slipped the pipe back up her sleeve, "That's right.. damnit. Oh well, maybe I should just shake some manners out of this jerk eh?" She grinned menacingly, grabbing Kyo by his shirt collar.

     "Hands off, you yankee!" Kyo snapped, knocking her hands away and starting to walk down the hallway, "I don't have to take this crap! I ain't apologizing to no one!"

     Unfortunately, his escape to freedom was cut short when a hand fell upon his shoulder. Kyo's hair stood on end well before he even started to turn. Dreading what he expected to see, Kyo twitched and looked over his shoulder towards the person who had him by the shoulder.

     Eyes glowing a brilliant violet, with electricity crackling in her eyes, Hanajima stared Kyo down gloomily, "Surely you aren't thinking of abandoning Tohru-chan in this project, when you agreed to help her, are you?"  Without letting Kyo answer, Hanajima continued, "Because if you were, then I would feel that I would have to do.." A dramatic pause, "Many.. things." Her eyes narrowed a fractionally.

     Many of those things were things Kyo did not want to contemplate. It is for this reason, and this reason alone (Really!) that Kyo grumbled something akin to agreement to staying. Yet he still insisted that he refused to apologize. Hanajima removed her hand from his shoulder and turned away. "Whether you apologize to Ritsuko or not is not my concern. However," she looked over her shoulder, "I will never forgive anyone who abandons Tohru-chan." Her voice deepend ominously, "Souma Kyo." Turning away again, she strode down the hall, towards Tohru and the others.

     Uotani rubbed behind her head, smirking at the exchange, "I gotta get her to teach me that." She muttered absently, following after her friend. 

     Kyo growled at their backs, but quickly looked away when Hanajima happened to look over her shoulder again. Shuddering, Kyo returned to the office they were using with a sigh.

     Yuki and Tohru meanwhile, had their hands full. While Yuki had managed to keep Ritsuko from trying to kill himself; first in the water fountain, and then when Ritsuko tried to leap out the window, Tohru had finally managed to get Ritsuko to calm down. It was a good thing she had watched Shigure's 'Calm-Richan-Technique' the last time the Jyunishi monkey had visited. 

     Ritsuko now sat on the floor, his head in his hands, while Tohru knelt beside him, and Yuki stood behind her, an expression of irritated exasperation on his face..when they weren't looking, that is. There really wasn't anything else for him to do, and Yuki felt that Tohru would be fine without him, so he leaned down to the girl with a warm smile, "Honda-san, will you and Ritsuko be okay? I'd like to check on Momiji and Haru, and make sure they're behaving. Well.. Momiji more than Haru." 

     Tohru looked up and smiled winningly, "Of course desu! Richan-san and I will be inside right after, Yuki-kun!"

     Yuki straightened with a smile, "Then, I'll be off." He turned around – and uttered a rather girly cry of surprise, finding himself suddenly face to face with Hanajima. In addition to his yelp, he had leapt back a foot, and gasped for breath.

     Hanajima stared at him unblinkingly, and looked down to Tohru, "Souma Kyo has calmed down and is now inside. He has refused to apologize to Souma Ritsuko, however." She remarked.

     Tohru, well used to Hanajima's sudden appearances and disappearances by now, smiled warmly, "Okay! Thank you Hana-chan! You're the best desu!"

     Yuki was surprised to see a soft smile cross the normally somber girl's face; it softened her features considerably, and he found himself wondering why he never saw her smile at other times. Only with .. He glanced at Tohru, and chuckled to himself. Of course. Tohru. He looked back to Hanajima, and bowed politely, "Thank you for your help, Hanajima-san. Honda-san," he said, looking to the other girl, "If you need any help, let me know, okay?" 

     "HAAAAAAAAI desuuuuuuu!" Tohru chimed, waving after the Prince.

     Hanajima nodded, looking to Yuki, "Arisa and I will be with the Souma's, Tohru-chan. Call for us as well, if you need help." 

     Uotani regarded the demure figure sitting by Tohru, and her ever-so-cheerful friend as well. Smiling, she didn't say anything, for Hanajima and Yuki both conveyed her words perfectly, and as such, the blonde yankee simply turned and followed Hanajima and Yuki into the office. 

     Ritsuko watched the others walk away, and then turned to Tohru with admiration in his eyes, "Your friends care very much about you, Tohru-san." 

     Tohru looked back to Richan, beaming, "Yes, I love them very much desu!" Smoothing her hands over her skirt, she added, "The Souma's care a lot about you too Richan-san, and so do I!" 

     "Me?" Ritsuko blinked in surprise, "But. . . I'm not anyone special. I..I made a mess of everything, Tohru-san. You're much too nice to someone like me." 

     Tohru shook her head, "That's not true Richan-san! Everyone is very special in their own way! I'm sure you're a great help to Okami-san at the springs, ne?" 

     Ritsuko looked down, "Well, yes, but.. even there I make mistakes.. my parents are so ashamed of me because I wear women's clothing." 

     Tohru smiled happily, "But Richan-san is most comfortable in women's clothing, ne? There's nothing wrong with that, desu! My mother always told me that following the trend isn't always the best choice, and that you should do what's comfortable for yourself!"

     Ritsuko smiled quietly, "You admire your mother a great deal, don't you, Tohru-san?" 

     Tohru nodded brightly, "Un! I want very much to be like her desu!" She cocked her head to the side, "Do you have someone that you admire, Richan-san?"

     Ritsuko brightened exponentially, "Yes! I want very much to be like Yuki-san's brother, Ayame-san!" 

     Tohru twitched, a small sweatdrop running down the back of her head. "Hontou?" Somehow the thought of TWO Ayame's was quite frightening. Still, she wasn't going to shoot down a friend's aspirations, "Then you should do your best, ne? Just like we'll do our best to be the best DJ's!" 

     Ritsuko smiled weakly, "Ah.. yes.. do you think I can? Really?" 

     Tohru got to her feet, and extended her hand. Nodding emphatically to the question, she smiled, "If we give it our all, definitely! Come on Richan-san, the others are waiting, desu!"        

     Ritsuko stared at Tohru's hand a moment, and then smiled, taking Tohru's hand, letting the other girl help him up, "Thank you Tohru-san, you're very kind." 

     Tohru smiled warmly, leading the taller boy back to the office. "Anything for a friend, desu!" 

     They were given a somewhat subdued hero's welcome when they returned to the office; once again, Momiji leapt up to glomp onto Tohru, and once again, Hatsuharu reached out and yanked him back to his seat gently. Uotani and Hanajima smiled warmly – well Uotani smiled. Hanajima just blinked which was her equivalent for a smile, of course. Ritsuko bowed modestly, "I'm sorry about the trouble I caused.." 

     Kyo grunted something, but Yuki only smiled, "It's all right Ritsuko. Is everything okay now? Honda-san?" 

     Tohru nodded happily, leading Ritsuko back to their seats, releasing his hand once they got there. "We're ready to begin again desu!" 

     Yuki smiled, "Ah, good. What's next?" 

     Uotani looked thoughtful, "Well, we just did the introduction – sort of.. – and Momiji-san, you did one of the commercials, right?"

     Hanajima motioned to a trashcan, "Judging from the fact that one of the products has been stomped on repeatedy, and thrown out, I would assume so." 

     Momiji put on his cutest smile, "Eheh.." 

     Uotani chuckled, "Okay Hanajima, you're up." 

     Ken quickly flipped the switch, turning the  'On Air' light back on, and Yuki flipped a switch on the board. Fortunately, even though Kyo entered the office first, Yuki managed to switch CD's again, and was pleased to hear Mozart over the speakers.

     Tohru motioned to Ritsuko to start, and with some hesitance, Ritsuko took the microphone again, as if it would bite. "Welcome back to Furuba Radio," he said softly, "Ah.. with me is my co-DJ Honda Tohru, and she's a wonderful person, if I may say so." He smiled towards Tohru.

     "Thanks Richan-san!" Tohru smiled sweetly, "Today to keep you updated on the news desu, is our very on Hanajima Saki! Take it Hana-chan!" 

     Hanajima picked up the papers in front of her, looking towards Tohru, "…thank you, Tohru-chan." She said, with little inflection in her voice. In fact, it remained as gloomy and dark as ever. "Earlier today there was an accident on the Jipang Pass when a truck transporting three cows and a duck overturned. The car behind it was tailgating and the driver was unable to stop in time. He hit the truck, damaging the front fender and damaging the gate enclosing the cows. In the chaos, the animals escaped from confinement. Authorities are still searching for them." She rustled the pages, oblivious to the fact that Kyo and Yuki were staring at her, the horror of having her read the news, coming to full impact on them.

     Continuing, Hanajima read from the next page, "There was a shootout at the Pennywise Savings and Loan when three men attempted to rob it. The authorities were on the scene in moments, and the confrontation between the two factions resulted in the deaths of the three gunman, one officer, and a bank teller. Information on the Memorial services are to follow." She rustled the papers again, when Ken slipped in from the other office, moving to Ritsuko and Tohru. Uotani quirked an eyebrow as Hanajima continued to read, leaning over slightly to hear what Ken was whispering to Ritsuko and Tohru.

     Ken coughed discreetly, and whispered, "We're getting some complaints about the news reading, Tohru-san," he said quietly, "Mostly from parents..they say that Hanajima is scaring their children."

     Uotani snorted, "Who cares?" She whispered back. "Tell 'em to grow a spine!"

     Tohru smiled weakly, "Well, there isn't much more to say on the news anyway, desu.. we'll just move on to Uo-chan, okay?" 

     Ken scratched his head, "Good enough I guess.. hope those kids don't get nightmares.." He added, slipping out of the room.

     Uotani smirked, turning to Hanajima, who was just wrapping up the news report. "..and this is the reason that clowns are no longer allowed in the city." Hanajima said, "And now, the weather. Arisa." 

     Uotani grinned broadly, taking her microphone, "AUS! This is Uotani Arisa bringing to you the weather forecast for the week! First off, on Monday until Wednesday it's going to be sunny and clear; Thursday it'll get a little cloudy, and on Friday – whoah! Friday we're going to get hit with a pretty big storm, so batten down the hatches!" 

     Ritsuko raised a hand, "Um.. actually Uotani-san, that's a smudge of grape jelly." 

     Uotani blinked, looking at the map again, and then across the table, where Momiji was merrily munching a sandwich. Finding all eyes on him, with the exception of Hatsuharu and Kyo, Momiji smiled cheekily, setting his sandwich aside. Uotani shook her head as Ritsuko flicked aside the grape jam, and continued the report, "That is.. Friday it's going to be cloudy with a twenty percent chance of storms." A pause, "But you know folks, the weather pattern is really difficult to predict, and I'm no meteorologist or anything. You want to know the weather? Try looking outside. Besides, a little rain never hurt anyone."

     Ritsuko smiled, glancing at Tohru as she took the microphone again, "Arigatou desu Uo-chan, Hana-chan! We're going to cut to a commercial right now, but when we come back, we'll play some music desu, and take requests!"

     "WAI! We're up again Haru!" Momiji beamed.

     "Ah." Hatsuharu hmphfed, reaching forward again, picking up can of soda, and looked it over while Momiji took over the microphone, "Hi! Momiji-chan here and Haru and I are going to introduce another great (maybe) product for you all! Haru, what's the product we're introducing?" 

     "R.D's Vanilla Coke and Root Beer." 

     Momiji blinked, "But Haru, I only see one can in your hand.. which is it?" 

     "…both." Haru answered, turning the can to show Momiji.

     Momiji blinked, "Oh I see! The manufacturers of R.D Root Beer combined the taste in with the Vanilla Coke! Hm, that must be interesting. How does it taste, Haru?"

     Without answering, Haru pulled the tab on the soda, and took a swig. The slight grunt he gave could have been anything from 'It sucks' to 'It's good' and even 'I have to use the potty.'. Momiji doubted it was the latter, and took the soda, "Hey Ken-san! Bring some cups in here, everyone should try some!" 

     "It's probably great," Uotani grinned, "I love Vanilla Coke. Don't you Toh-kun?" She eyed her friend.

     Tohru smiled, "I haven't ever had it, actually. Isn't that the stuff that tastes like Cream Soda?" 

     "No, it's way better than that." Uotani scoffed, smiling when the soda was poured into the small dixie size cups, and passed them around. She and Kyo both downed theirs like they it was alcohol; but where Uotani seemed to enjoy the taste, Kyo spat it out.

     "What are you talking about you yankee! This stuff tastes awful!"

     "KYO! Watch where you're spitting!" Yuki snapped in disgust, wiping some of the soda from his jacket. Tohru set her cup down and quickly got up to get a towel, while Ritsuko looked worriedly towards the two, "Yuki-san, are you okay?"

     "I'm fine, but the bakan- but this idiot spat half of his soda all over me." Yuki said, casting a disgusted look towards Kyo.

     Smirking, Kyo only shrugged, "I probably made an improvement to it."

     "You damnable Carrot Top!" Uotani said angrily, "How dare you say that about this soda? It's awesome! I think you should have another taste!" She grabbed a cup, which just so happened to be Ritsuko's, and flung it across the room at Kyo.

     Kyo however, was not about to get doused with soda, nor was Yuki, and the two quickly dodged in opposite directions. The cup full of soda spilled partially on the floor before bouncing against the music station, causing a few sparks to fly up. Yaten yelled out from the booth, and rushed into the room to help his friends clean up the soda before it shorted out everything and made it impossible to use. "Uotani-san! Be more careful!" 

     "Don't yell at me, yell at Carrot Top," Uotani demanded, standing up as Tohru rushed back into the room to hand Yuki a towel. "He's the one that pissed me off!"

     Eyeing Hatsuharu nervously, Ritsuko got to his feet and joined Tohru, "Here, let me help you Tohru-san!" He offered. 

     Smiling, Tohru passed him a towel and let him help mop up the mess. Hanajima simply reached up to Uotani and tugged on her sleeve. Uotani sat back down with a huff, scowling in Kyo's direction, though her glare was much more heated than Yuki's glacier gaze.

     Kyo completely ignored the glares he was getting from the pair, instead staring out the window. Momiji coughed a bit, eyeing Hatsuharu, and deciding now was a very good time to change the subject. "And.. ah, the opinions are in! Several people enjoy the great taste of R.D. Root Beer Vanilla Coke, and others hate it! So what this means is.. go out and buy the soda, and decide for yourselves! Momiji says!"  He finished, as Ken flicked the On Air to 'off', so the guys could fix the damage done to the music section.


	5. Yuki and Kyo: Music Duel

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand we're back desu!" Tohru cried into the microphone. "Boy it feels like that station break was long, ne Richan?"  
  
"That's right Tohru-san. It felt like.. MONTHS." Ritsuko smiled.  
  
There was a significant pause. The group seated around the long table in the audio room shifted uncomfortably. A fly buzzed around the room until Kyo rolled up a newspaper and slapped it down, breaking the silence.  
  
"But we're back now desu!" Tohru piped up again. "Etou, etou.. what's next on the list desu?"  
  
"Oi Toh-Kun! Hanajima and I already did the news and weather. Why don't you let Carrot Top and Ouji-sama handle the music?" Uotani offered.  
  
"That's a good idea, Uotani-san." Yuki agreed.  
  
"ALL RIGHT!" Kyo enthused, "About damn time! And I know just the selection." He got up and moved to the rack, but Yuki beat him to it. "Hold it bakane-- Kyo; what makes you think you're in charge of the music?"  
  
"Because I have better taste than YOU. You'll have the listeners hear nothing but Crap Classical music!" Kyo snarled.  
  
Yuki narrowed his eyes, violet orbs boring deep into Kyo's amber ones. "And what would YOU have them listen to? Heavy metal?"  
  
"You got a problem with that?" Kyo bristled.  
  
Uotani and Hanajima seemed /more/ than amused with the altercation between the two. Well.. Uotani seemed amused. Hanajima was....Hanajima.  
It was hard to tell just what was going behind that girl's expression.  
  
Ritsuko and Tohru were staring at the altercation, on the other hand, with a sense of morbid fascination. Rather like a car crash; it's gruesome, but at the same time you can't look away. After a nudge from Momiji, Tohru snapped back to her senses. "Ah.. uh.. etou!" she looked at her co-anchor, "Richan! What do we do?"  
  
"Um. We .. we should try and stop them from fighting, Tohru-san." Ritsuko answered, "But I'm not sure how."   
  
"MAaa, maa, let's let them get it out of their system, ne?"   
  
Dead silence, save for the arguing Kyo and Yuki, fell over the table. As one, the majority of the occupants turned to see a widely grinning Shigure. As one, they screamed; save for Hanajima.  
  
"S..Shigure-san!" Tohru gasped, her heart beating a mile a millisecond.  
  
"When the hell did you get in here!?" Uotani demanded, eyeing the writer warily.  
  
Snickering at the mass reaction, Shigure pouted. "Well I was lonely after you three left." He sniffed a little, then beamed, "So I decided to come down and see how things were going for myself!"   
  
"We're glad you're here, Shigure-san!" Tohru's smile began to falter as the argument between Yuki and Kyo began to escalate, "Ano -"   
  
Shigure threw an arm over Tohru's shoulders carefully, "It's okay Tohru-kun. The show must go on, ne? Here Ritchan," Shigure reached into his shirt and handed the Jyunichi a CD, "Try this one. I guarantee it'll get them to stop arguing." He grinned.  
  
Ritsuko beamed, "Arigatou Shigure-san!" quickly shuffling over towards the CD player, he popped the disc in and pushed the play button.  
  
"Tohru!" Yaten called from the sound booth, motioning to the 'On Air' sign.  
  
"WAH!" Tohru quickly put on her headpiece and clicked the necessary button to introduce the song. "A..h.. Welcome back to Furuba radio, desu! Sorry for the delay minna, but we now have some music to play for you, thanks to-" she paused to see Shigure shaking his head with his finger to his lips. "Ah, an anonymous benefactor desu! And without further adieu, here's the mu-"   
  
'Dude Looks Like a Lady' began to play over the radio.   
  
"-sic.." Tohru finished weakly. Glancing at a madly snickering Shigure, she smiled weakly and hit the button on the console. "Ano, Shigure-san.."   
  
Ritsuko of course, didn't seem to think anything of the song. Yuki and Kyo, however, interrupted out of their shoving match by the song, simultaneously looked up and realized Shigure was present.   
  
"Shigure. When did you get here?" Yuki asked, as Kyo discreetly slipped over towards the CD player.  
  
"Just a short while ago, Yuki-kun." Shigure smiled, innocently aware of Kyo as he deftly selected another CD.  
  
Yuki's eyes narrowed at the oh-so-innocent look on the face of the writer. "You're up to something." He accused.  
  
"MOI?" Shigure's eyes widened, aghast at the very IDEA of him being up to some sort of mischief.  
  
Before Yuki could come up with a retort to that, 'Dude Looks Like a Lady' was abruptly jerked off out of the player. "KYO!" he whirled on the other Jyunishi.   
  
But it was too late. The CD cover was flipped to Ritsuko, who had reclaimed his spot beside Tohru and was just about to announce the next song. "Gomen nasai for the interruption ladies and gentlemen!" Ritsuko spoke, "There's been a change in the program! We're now playing-" he paused.  
  
Tohru helpfully supplied, "Love Rollercoaster, by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, desu!"   
  
"What?" Yuki whirled back towards the two DJs, even as the lyrics blared over the speakers. Loud, hard core music that Kyo sang along with, all the while GRINNING at Yuki in challenge.  
  
"You give me that funny feeling in my tummy....Ahw sh.., yeah, that's right huh. Rollercoaster of Love say what, Rollercoaster yeah (oohh oohh oohh)..."  
  
Momiji chimed in on the second set of lyrics, going so far as to jump onto the table and dance, "Oh baby you know what I'm talking about  
Rollercoaster of Love, oh yeah it's Rollercoaster ti-" His singing was abruptly halted when Hatsuharu grabbed the back of his pants and jerked him off the table to sit on the chair again. "HARUUUU!!" Momiji whined.  
  
"What do you think your doing, Kyo!?" Yuki demanded, stalking over to the CD player and all but jerking the CD out.  
  
"No good will come of this." Hanajima murmured towards Uotani and Tohru.  
  
Tohru could only smile weakly, as Ritsuko continued, "Ah - th..there's been another change in the program -"   
  
"NO THERE HASN'T!" Kyo snarled, grabbing for the CD in Yuki's hand.  
  
Yuki shoved Kyo backwards into a stack of CDs, eliciting a small cry of dismay from Tohru. "We don't need your trashy music polluting the airwaves, Kyo." Yuki growled, selecting another CD and popping that one into the CD player.  
  
The soft sounds of classic rock music began to play over the airwaves, as Yuki stared Kyo down. "This is the type of music that's proper. Go ahead and introduce it Ritsuko-san."   
  
"But.."  
  
"INTRODUCE IT!"  
  
Fliching back from Yuki's roar, Ritsuko nodded meekly, "H..hai..! Uh.. next up we have.. Bohemian Rhapsody, by Queen." Poor Ritsuko. He looked like he wanted to cry.  
  
Tohru patted Ritsuko on the shoulder, turning to Shigure, "Shigure-san! Can't you do something?"   
  
Just when Shigure was about to answer, Mitsuki appeared in the doorway, out of breath and disheveled, "SENSEI!" She shrieked, "THERE YOU ARE! You PROMISED you'd come back!" She pointed at him, waving the unfinished manuscript with her free hand. "I HAVE A DEADLINE Sensei! A DEADLINE!!" Storming into the office, she seized Shigure by the back of his collar and proceeded to drag him out.  
  
Shigure could only wave sheepishly to Tohru, "Gomen Tohru-kuuun!"  
  
"Get that crap off of the radio!" Kyo snarled at Yuki.  
  
"Try and make me!" Yuki snapped irritably, moving into a defensive stance.  
  
With a growl, Kyo grabbed a CD from the floor and lunged forward, knocking Yuki back a few steps, startling the prettyboy long enough to switch CDs.  
  
Again Ritsuko quickly spoke into the microphone, "Ah.. ladies and gentleman we're now playing Insanity by the group called Stone Faced and if you just-"   
  
"Wait Richan! It's actually 'It's not easy' by FiveforFighting." Tohru interrupted, frantically watching Yuki and Kyo fight for control of the CD player.  
  
"They're going to break it if they keep this up." Hanajima noted quietly, watching the boys fighting.  
  
"Waaaa.." Tohru placed her hands to her mouth. "Doshio...DOSHIO..!?!" 


End file.
